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Public Defenseless

Anyone paying attention can tell you that our criminal legal system is perpetuating cruelty and harm, but the complexity of the legal world overwhelms most people simply trying to get through another day. Public Defenseless explores the rot in the justice system and what we can do about it. Join host, Hunter Parnell, as he interviews top defense attorneys and criminal justice stakeholders from across the country as they pull apart the convoluted web of our criminal justice system. Like so many of

government politics

All Episodes

13:28

2025 Wrap Up

Public Defenseless ·

2025/12/24

Today, Hunter wraps up 2025 with one last episode! Guest: Resources: Top 10 Episodes of 2025 334 | Was a Former Colorado Public Defender Fired for Raising Concerns over his Workload? w/Travis Weiner 335 | How Sec Def Austin Interfered with the 9/11 and U.S.S. Cole Case Plea Deals w/Allison Miller and Katie Carmon 336 | How the San Mateo Private Defender Program is Trying to Earn Back the Community's Trust w/Lisa Maguire and Harpreet Samra 328 | How the Laken Riley Act Could Get Innocent People Sent

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59:50

429 | How Technology Can Improve Public Defense in...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/12/23

Today, Hunter was joined by Mohammad Al Rawi and Ryan Wolfe of ZLS.App. The three discussed how ZLS is helping public defenders improve case management with automated systems. With better case management systems, public defenders are better equipped to collect and track the data that public defenders need to justify their requests to the legislatures. Guest: Mohammad Al Rawi, Co-Founder. ZLS.app Ryan Wolfe, Co-Founder, ZLS.app Resources: Find ZLS Here https://zls.app/

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01:01:13

428 | How Will New Leadership Handle Missouri Public...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/12/18

Today, Hunter was joined by the new Chief Public Defender for the state of Missouri, Matthew Crowell. Matthew and Hunter discussed a range of topics that Matthew is now facing as the Chief and how he hopes to tackle them. Guest: Matthew Crowell, Chief Public Defender, Missouri Resources: Contact the Missouri Public Defender Here https://publicdefender.mo.gov/ Lawsuit

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01:09:12

427 | What Happened to Public Defense in Stanislaus...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/12/16

Today, Hunter was joined once again by Stanislaus County Chief Public Defender Jennifer Jennison. Last time she was one the show, Jennifer detailed how she made the decision to make her office unavailable for new cases because of the unethical workload in her office. Now, Jennifer is back to tell us what came of that decision and what is next for the office. Guest: Jennifer Jennison, Chief Public Defender, Stanislaus County, California Resources: Modesto Bee Reporting

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51:42

426 | The Conservative Arkansas County Trying to Stop...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/12/11

Today, Hunter was joined by Bolts Magazine staff writer, Lauren Gill. Back in September, Lauren authored a remarkable piece about how a small county in rural Arkansas responded to the threat of a new prison being built in their back yard. Guest: Lauren Gill, Staff Writer, Bolts Mag Resources: Check Out Lauren's Work https://x.com/laurenk_gill https://boltsmag.org/authors/lauren-gill/ Read the Article Here https://boltsmag.org/arkansas-prison-franklin-county/ Contact

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01:08:28

425 | How Ramsey County Prosecutors and Public...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/12/09

Today, Hunter was joined by Greg Egan and John Choi. For the first time on the show, a Public Defender and the District Attorney join the show at the same time to describe how their collaborative efforts have improved public safety without mass incarceration. Guest: Greg Egan, Public Defender, Ramsey County, Minnesota John Choi, Elected District Attorney, Ramsey County, Minnesota Resources: Contact John

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01:07:12

424 | If You Cannot Afford an Attorney, None Will Be...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/12/04

Today, Hunter was joined once again by Andrew Davies and Shelby Sirivore of the Deason Center. This time, the two join the show to help us understand the policy decisions that local governments make that increase or decrease the likelihood that a person who cannot afford an attorney will actually get one appointed if they want it. Guest: Andrew Davies, Director of Research, Deason Center, Southern Methodist University Shelby Sirivore, Contractor, Deason Center, Southern Methodist University

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01:04:33

423 | How the Los Angeles Public Defender is...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/12/02

Today, Hunter was joined by Los Angeles Deputy Public Defender Noah Coax. Noah leads the office's Neurocognitive Disorder Team that has charted a new path for public defenders to properly represent clients with cognitive impairments. Guest: Noah Cox, Deputy Public Defender, Neurocognitive Disorder Team, Los Angeles Public Defender Resources: More About NDT https://pubdef.lacounty.gov/gold-eagle-award/ https://www.npr.org/2025/11/01/nx-s1-5582617/cognitive-disabilities-diversion

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01:04:11

422 | What Does it Take to Undo California's Legacy...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/11/26

Today, Hunter was joined by Danielle Harris, Managing Attorney of the Freedom Project at the San Francisco Public Defender Office. Thanks to mass incarceration policies like mandatory minimums and three strikes laws, thousands of people in California languish away serving brutally harsh sentences. Recognizing the cruelty, the state passed a series of laws aimed at giving people a pathway to early release, and for years, Danielle and her team at the Freedom Project have helped people get early

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01:09:47

421 | How the Law Makes it So Easy for Prosecutors to...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/11/25

Today, Hunter was joined once again by Professor Justin Murray. This time, Justin and Hunter discussed Justin's newest law review article, Brady's Shadow. In the article, Justin lays out the landmark Supreme Court Case Brady v. Maryland has left criminal defendants with a deeply flawed access to exculpatory evidence. Guest: Justin Murray, Professor of Law, New York Law School Resources: Read the Article Here https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5393687 Contact Justin

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01:20:12

420 | Did the Executive Director of the Brooklyn...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/11/20

Today, Hunter was joined by two guests from the Brooklyn Defender Services, Heather Stoloff and Andie Markowitz. Unfortunately, today's conversation brings us another allegation of a public defender leader engaging in flagrant union busting efforts. A few months ago, the Executive Director of the organization called Andie in for a one on one meeting. In that meeting, Andie alleges that the Executive Director handed her instructions detailing how to dissolve the office's current union, how to create

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45:29

419 | Why did The CJA Panel in New Mexico Stop...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/11/19

Today, Hunter was joined by the CJA Panel Rep for New Mexico, Ryan Villa. The last time Hunter talked about CJA panels on the show he discussed how the federal government stopped paying the panels back in July. After months of not getting paid, Ryan and the rest of the New Mexico panel decided that enough was enough. They wrote a letter stating they would no longer be accepting new cases. With the future funding of this system in doubt, this could be a preview of what is in store for federal public

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57:26

418 | The Organization Trying to Help More than...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/11/18

Today, Hunter was the President and Founder of #AfghanEvac, Shaw VanDiver. During our two decades of conflict in Afghanistan, America made a promise to hundreds of thousands of Afghans who helped our cause: work with us, and we will provide you safety from the Taliban. Yet when Kabul fell back into the hands of the Taliban, America left behind more than 195,000 of our allies in harms way. Shawn and his team at #AfghanEvac aim to fulfil the promise we made to our Afghan allies by assisting them in

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01:07:58

417 | How a Jailhouse Lawyer Challenged Louisiana's...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/11/13

Today, Hunter was joined by Calvin Duncan and Sophie Cull, Co-authors of the book, Jailhouse Lawyer. In this book, Sophie and Calvin tell the story of Calvin's life. As a teenager, Calvin was wrongfully charged with and ultimately convicted of a homicide. He faced a life sentence in Angola State Prison. For the nearly three decades that Calvin was wrongfully incarcerated, he worked as a jailhouse lawyer. In that role, he helped countless men, in hopeless legal situations challenge the conditions

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01:06:44

416 | How Louisiana Built the Project of Mass...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/11/11

Today, Hunter was joined by Eric Seiferth and Nick Weldon of the New Orleans Historic Collection to discuss a historic exhibit they curated. The Captive State traces the story of mass incarceration to its historical roots to Louisiana's colonial slave holding past. Guest: Eric Seiferth, Curator/Historian, New Orleans Historic Collection Nick Weldon, Senior Editor, New Orleans Historic Collection Resources: Buy the Book Here https://hnoc.org/publishing/books/captive-state Contact Hunter

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01:04:43

415 | How the Detroit Justice Center is Helping...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/11/06

Today, Hunter was joined by two guest from the Detroit Justice Center, Nancy A. Parker and Rubina Mustafa. As they did on Tuesday, Hunter and his guests are exploring court related fines and fees, how fines and fees are impacting communities in Michigan, and the policies that have started the slow fight to eliminate court fines and fees. Guest: Nancy A. Parker, Executive Director, Detroit Justice Center Rubina Mustafa, Senior Staff Attorney, Detroit Justice Center Resources: Detroit

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29:50

414 | How California Built a Database to Track Police...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/11/05

Today, Hunter was joined once again by journalist Katey Rausch. Last time Katey was on the show, she discussed her bombshell reporting on the non-disclosure agreements law enforcement was using to hide the misconduct of law enforcement officers. Now, Katey is here to describe how that reporting has turned into a ban on those agreements and a state wide data base to allow people to track law enforcement misconduct. Guest: Katey Rusch, Record Requests Manager and Data Journalist, California

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01:04:51

413 | How New Mexico Joined in On the Fight to End...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/11/04

Today, Hunter spoke with Joanna Weiss, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center. Today, the two sat down to discuss FFJC's campaign to end court fines and fess the automatically revoke a person's driver's license nationally and in New Mexico Guest: Joanna Weiss, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, Fines and Fees Justice Center Resources: FFJC https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/ https://x.com/FinesandFeesJC https://www.facebook.com/finesandfeesjc/

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01:05:38

412 | How Pre-Trial Services Can Reduce Incarceration...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/10/30

Today, Hunter spoke with David Bennett, a veteran in the field of pretrial services. They discuss the evolution of pretrial services, the challenges of jail overcrowding, and the misconceptions surrounding pretrial programs. David shares insights on the importance of community support, risk assessment, and the need for effective alternatives to electronic monitoring. The conversation highlights the critical role of rehabilitation and support services in the criminal justice system, emphasizing the

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01:29:29

411 | How Private Criminal Defense Lawyers Are Trying...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/10/29

Today, Hunter spoke with three amazing guests from Colorado's Office of Alternate Defense Counsel. Kristin Ladd, Blue Daniels, and Mesa Anderson joined the show to discuss the Greater Colorado Fellowship. This program aims to place lawyers in rural parts of the state to serve as private criminal defense lawyers who handle public defender cases. Guest: Kristin Ladd, Attorney Development Coordinator, Office of Alternate Defense Counsel, Colorado Mesa Anderson, Greater Colorado Fellow, Western

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